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Important message:
Consumers are upgrading HVAC systems to higher
efficiency equipment and controls without understanding that often such
new
equipment when operated the old way, does not provide energy
savings.
For example, a 98% efficient boiler only achieves
such high performance when it operates at low temperatures
typically below 80 deg F (27 deg C).
Regardless of the use of programmable
thermostats, when a 98% efficient boiler is run at 180 deg F
(82 deg C) it still only achieves a nominal 85%.
Likewise if people are relying on programmable
thermostats for savings it’s important to know that a thermostat
only tells the boiler that it "could" run but not at what
temperature it "should" run at. This is not a trivial matter.
If you are upgrading to reduce your energy
consumption, you have to
look at the entire system – it’s not enough
just to replace the equipment.
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Programmable
Thermostats - Part I
Copyright (c) 2012,
Robert Bean, R.E.T., P.L.(Eng.),
www.healthyheating.com
and content contributors
see also:
Programmable Thermostats -
Part II (includes boiler efficiency )
Suffice to say there is no shortage of debates about setback
thermostats. We remain neutral since valid research supports their use
in some applications.
Rather than perpetuate the debate amongst the real research and
plethora of anecdotal energy savings claims, we thought we
would present a different side that says, “just
because a control could potentially reduce energy use,
doesn't mean that it is operated in such a way that energy
reductions are achieved.”
The following is a list of scientific papers
many which have studied how people actually use these
devices with success and shockingly how they often end up using more
energy than what they were intended to save.
Why? Because many people find them too complicated to operate so
they are operated incorrectly.
We hope you find this useful, if so tell your
friends and be sure to share your stories at our Linked In
page where we have devoted an entire segment to
Programmable Thermostats: In Search of the Holy Grail |
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Thermostat
and Sensory Resources
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Meier,
A.K., et al, How People
Actually Use Thermostats, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory and
University of California Davis, University of California Berkeley
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Karjalainen, S., Vastamäki, R.,
Occupants Have a
False Idea of Comfortable Summer Season Temperatures, Proceedings of Clima
2007 Well Being Indoors
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Plourde, A.,
Programmable Thermostats as Means of Generating Energy Savings: Some Pros and
Cons, University of Alberta School of Business, March 2003
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Walker, I., Meier, A.K.,
Residential
Thermostats: Comfort Controls in California Homes, Lawrence Berkeley
National Laboratory, Berkeley, California, March 2008
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Karjalainen, S., Koistinen, O.,
User problems with
individual temperature control in offices, Building and Environment, Vol.
42, No. 8, pp. 2880–2887, 2007
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Karjalainen, S.,
The characteristics of usable room temperature control, Ph.D. Dissertation,
VTT Publications 662, ESPOO 2007
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Tariku, F., Kumaran, M.K., Fazio, P.,
Thermostat setback effect in whole building performance, National Research
Council, 2008
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Karjalainen, S.,
Why It Is Difficult to Use a Simple Device: An Analysis of a Room Thermostat,
VTT, 2007
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Karjalainen, S. 2007,
Gender
differences in thermal comfort and use of thermostats in everyday thermal
environments, Building and Environment, Vol. 42, No. 4, pp. 1594-1603.
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Erlandson, T.M., Cena, K., de Dear, R.,
Gender differences and non-thermal factors in thermal comfort of office
occupants in a hot-arid climate, Elsevier Ergonomics Book Series, Volume 3,
2005, Pages 263-268
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Matos, R., Wang, K., Jensen, J.D., Jensen, T, Neuman, B., Svensson, P.,
Arendt-Nielsen L., Quantitative sensory testing in the trigeminal region: site and gender
differences, J Orofac Pain. 2011 Spring;25(2):161-9.
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Blankenburg M, Boekens H, Hechler T, Maier C, Krumova E, Scherens A, Magerl W,
Aksu F, Zernikow B., Reference values for quantitative sensory testing in children and adolescents:
developmental and gender differences of somatosensory perception, Pain, 2010
Apr;149(1):76-88. Epub 2010 Feb 6.
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Kempton, W.,
Two
Theories of Home Heat Control, Cognitive Science 10 I 75-90 (1986)
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Karjalainen, S.,
Usability
guidelines for room temperature controls, Intelligent Buildings
International ,Vol. 2, Iss. 2, 2010
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Kempton,
W., Feuermann, D., Mcgarity, A.E.,
Air Conditioner User Behavior in a Master-Metered Apartment Building,
Proceedings of the Fourth Symposium on Improving Building Systems in Hot and
Humid Climates, Houston, TX, September 15-16, 1987
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Norman, D.A.:
The
Design of Everyday Things. Basic Books, New York (1988)
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Jacko, J.A.,
Human-computer Interaction: Interaction design and usability, 12th
International Conference on Human-Computer Interaction, China, July 2007
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Andersen, R.V., Olesen, B.W., Toftum, J.,
Modelling Occupants’ Heating Set-Point Prefferences, Proceedings of Building
Simulation 2011: 12th Conference of International Building Performance
Simulation Association, Sydney, 14-16 November 2011
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de Groot, E., Spiekman, M., Opstelten, I.,
Dutch Research into User Behaviour in Relation to Energy Use of Residences,
PLEA 2008 – 25th Conference on Passive and Low Energy Architecture, Dublin, 22nd
to 24th October 2008
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Larsen, T.S. et al,
Occupants influence on the energy consumption of Danish domestic buildings –
State of the Art, Aalborg University, Department of Civil Engineering
Section for Architectural Engineering, December 2010
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Homework 1:
Observing everyday user interfaces, Georgia Tech Sonification Lab , School
of Psychology and the School of Interactive Computing
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Manning, M.M.; Swinton, M.C.;
Szadkowski, F.; Gusdorf, J.; Ruest, K.,
The
effects of thermostat set-back and set-up on seasonal energy consumption,
surface temperatures and recovery times at the CCHT Twin House Facility,
NRCC-48361, Institute for Research in Construction (IRC), National Research
Council Canada, Ottawa, Ontario, 2007
Related pages
Programmable
Thermostats - Part II (includes boiler efficiency )
Radiant design guide
Effectiveness coefficient, (Φ ) for temperatures in various countries
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